Guaana picked for new Dubai accelerator

Estonian scientific collaboration startup Guaana has been picked for the world’s largest government-supported accelerator, the Dubai Future Accelerators, as a rare team from the Northern Europe.

Dubai Future Accelerators is a new three-month programme connecting the world’s most innovative companies, entrepreneurs and businesses with leading government departments to create transformational solutions with a global impact. Backed by 1 billion AED of funding ($275 million) the uniqueness of this program lies in its drive to turn theoretical concepts into reality – to not only visualize innovative ideas but to see them become a reality implemented on a citywide scale with an impact regionally and globally.

“I have never seen a government so focused on accelerating the future and actually making innovation happen, not only talking about it,” says Guaana co-founder Marko Russiver. “We are here to tackle the biggest challenges academia is facing today, from infrastructure to funding and open collaboration.”

A total of 2,274 companies applied from 73 countries and all seven continents (1 from Antarctica!). The 30 companies selected address seven key “21st century opportunities” to create breakthrough solutions for pressing global challenges.

This includes cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence and robotics, 3D printing, distributed ledgers, Virtual Reality, biomimicry and biotechnology, as well as new business models and next generation research systems. Guaana is in the company of some of the world’s most advanced technology companies like Hyperloop One, Next, ConsenSys, and Honeywell amongst others.

The Dubai Future Accelerator is part of a larger program called the Dubai Future Agenda and is hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation in partnership with seven founding entities of the Dubai Government. Accelerator was launched in July 2016.

Guaana’s more than 2700 users include scientists and researchers from more than half of the TOP 25 universities, in addition to leading research organisations and some of the most innovative Fortune 500 companies in the world (including MIT, Stanford, University of Tokyo, CERN, European Space Agency, and Google X).